1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a method relating to telecommunications wherein a call is connected between two subscribers and the call is billed to a third subscriber, and wherein advertisements are transmitted during the course of the call.
2. Description of the Related Art
Swedish Patent No. 9403793-4 teaches a method of forwarding and billing a telephone call wherein a first subscriber telephone is connected to a second subscriber telephone via a standard telephone network. The standard telephone network may be either a fixed network or a mobile telephone network.
According to that patent specification, a call connection is set up by virtue of the first subscriber dialling a prefix followed by a subscriber number that leads to a third subscriber and then dialling a subscriber number that leads to a second subscriber. This procedure results in the setup of a connection between the first and the second subscribers while billing the third subscriber for the call between said first and second subscribers.
The prefix and subscriber number causes the telephone network to connect the call through the telephone network to a network connected computer unit of the third subscriber. The prefix also causes the computer unit to forward the call to the second subscriber via said computer unit, so as to connect the first subscriber with the second subscriber.
According to the aforesaid patent specification, the computer unit is caused to transmit advertisements or publicity media at given time intervals during the duration of the call connected between the first and the second subscribers.
For instance, a chain of hamburger restaurants or a chain of gas stations may transmit during the course of the call connection advertisements relating to sales offers or ongoing campaigns.
In this case, the first subscriber is not billed for the call to the second subscriber, or is only billed for a part of the call, while a company or an organization is able to advertise its activities to the first and the second subscribers.
One problem with call connections of this kind is, of course, that the transmitted advertising messages interrupt the conversation held by the persons involved while the advertisement is transmitted. This can be very annoying to persons who do not wish to be constantly interrupted in this way.
Such a situation can occur when a subscriber utilizes the possibility of phoning free of charge, by setting up a connection with a second subscriber on a facility in which advertisements are transmitted but where the second subscriber has something important to say or discuss or when the call has developed along lines in which the persons involved no longer wish to be interrupted by advertising messages.
The present invention solves this problem.